Seeking to increase the efficiency and speed of clinical and translational research in Georgia and beyond, the partner institutions of the Georgia Clinical & Translational Sciencce Alliance, (Georgia CTSA) recently agreed to permit the exchange of de-identified health information. The Institutional Data Use Agreement was signed by representatives of Emory University (Emory), Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Children’s) and the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia by and on behalf of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and the University of Georgia (UGA).

“The addition of UGA provides the Georgia CTSA a statewide footprint to connect with every county in the state to address health and wellness needs, particularly in rural and underserved populations; opportunities for continued excellence in research by strengthening existing and expanding new research collaborations; and the ability to enrich interprofessional education to include students and trainees from pharmacy and other disciplines so that they can learn how to work together as a team to discover new approaches and treatments that improve health and patient care,” said Bradley G. Phillips, PharmD, director of the Clinical and Translational Research Unit and Georgia CTSA principal investigator for UGA.

“This agreement will allow us to facilitate the conduct of clinical and translational research across the state by promoting collaboration. Thanks to this data use agreement, research investigators at Emory, MSM, Georgia Tech, UGA, and Children’s will be able to make use of 15 years of de-identified health information data from the Emory Healthcare electronic medical record, following IRB approval. This agreement supports the mission of the Georgia CTSA consortium by accelerating discoveries towards better health,” said Dr. W. Robert Taylor, MD, Georgia CTSA principal investigator and director of the Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Emory School of Medicine.

The data to be shared includes health information generated by each Georgia CTSA institution as a part of its research or clinical operations that is de-identified or part of a limited data set. The data shared may be used for research purposes only and in the case of “research involving human subjects,” appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) review and approval must be obtained prior to release of the data.

“These agreements serve to make investigators more efficient and allow them to focus their efforts on actual research projects and not overcoming the administrative burdens in getting multiple institutional approvals. It is through research efforts that we see improvements in care and in the lives of the children in our community,” said Kristine Rogers, RN, Director of Clinical Research, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

Emory, MSM, Georgia Tech, UGA, or Children’s researchers who are exchanging data with any of these Georgia CTSA partners should utilize these agreements. Non-Emory investigators interested in accessing de-identified or limited data set should request review and approval by the Georgia CTSA Clinical Research Network (CRN) Scientific Advisory Committee.

“Access to electronic medical records at Emory Healthcare, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and Morehouse School of Medicine will expand inter-institutional collaboration by allowing uniform access to data for clinical effectiveness and comparative effectiveness research. Such research studies will advance scientific discovery by specifically addressing racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes, relevant to Georgia and beyond,” said Elizabeth Ofili, MD, MPH, Georgia CTSA principal investigator for Morehouse School of Medicine, Sr. Associate Dean for Clinical Research, director, Clinical Research Center, professor, Department of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine.

“Georgia Tech has informed our investigators of this exciting opportunity. The Georgia CTSA data use agreement can be found on Georgia Tech’s Office of Research Integrity Assurance website and can be uploaded directly to any IRB protocol. Any Georgia Tech researchers who are exchanging human information data with any Georgia CTSA partner should utilize this agreement,” said Andrés J. García, PhD, Georgia CTSA principal investigator for Georgia Tech, executive director, Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology.

Data provided pursuant to this agreement shall not be sold, used for marketing purposes, or used in any other manner that shall constitute a commercial use.

Our Partners

Please include the following citation in any publications resulting from direct or indirect Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance support:

"Supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award number UL1TR002378. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health." KL2 Scholars should also list KL2TR002381 and TL1 Trainees should also list TL1TR002382.